BMO Capital Markets Cuts American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) Price Target to $139.00

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) had its price target cut by BMO Capital Markets from $141.00 to $139.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on AEP. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on American Electric Power from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price target on American Electric Power from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.71.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $135.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.52. American Electric Power has a 12 month low of $105.70 and a 12 month high of $140.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.07. American Electric Power had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.120-6.420 EPS. Analysts expect that American Electric Power will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 55.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,496,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,053,417,000 after acquiring an additional 828,588 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,437,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,509,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,661,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,690,659,000 after purchasing an additional 271,879 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,823,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,841,000 after purchasing an additional 83,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,626,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,381,000 after purchasing an additional 57,807 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Electric Power News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting American Electric Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised several forward EPS estimates for American Electric Power, including FY2026, FY2028, FY2029, and FY2030, signaling confidence in the company’s longer-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Other coverage highlighted American Electric Power as one of the utilities names analysts are bullish on, and it was also featured as a defensive stock for stability, which can attract investors looking for lower-volatility holdings. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp’s Q2 estimate for AEP came in at $1.50 per share, while consensus full-year earnings remain around $6.35 per share; investors may be waiting for the company’s actual results next week to see whether it can meet or beat expectations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed 0 shares short, so there is no meaningful bearish positioning signal from this report.
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets issued a pessimistic outlook on AEP’s stock price, which may be tempering enthusiasm despite the broader bullish analyst tone. Article Title

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.